Men's Soccer Pair Honored by NEC

Sep 23, 2013

A pair of Central Connecticut men's soccer players were honored by the Northeast Conference on Monday. Sophomore Zach Zurita and freshman Conor Qualter were named the NEC Player and Rookie of the Week respectively.

Zurita scored once and dished out two assists as the Central Connecticut Blue Devils went 2-0 on the week, an effort that earned him NEC Player of the Week honors. The forward assisted on the game-winning goal in 1-0 win over UMass-Lowell at home. He then scored the game-winner and assisted on an insurance goal on the road at Stony Brook, a 2-0 victory in favor of CCSU. Zurita currently leads the Blue Devils in scoring with eight points, including three goals and two assists.

Qualter has helped lead a CCSU defense that hasn't allowed a goal in the last 280 minutes of play. In Wednesday night's home victory over UMass-Lowell, Qualter made a pair of point blank stops in front of the net to help preserve the 1-0 shutout. On a key play with 10 minutes left in the game, Qualter deflected two Riverhawk shots that would have tied the score. He then helped the defense stifle the Stony Brook Seawolves in a 2-0 road victory.

Overall, Central Connecticut hasn't allowed a goal since an overtime score at Navy on Sept. 7. The three straight shutouts for CCSU are the most since October of 2007.